Policies

The HiTIF runs projects on a collaborative basis with CCR investigators at no cost to them for personnel and instrument time (See below for additional details). Projects originating from other NIH IC’s will be considered on a per case basis, and will be charged at $50/hr for both personnel and instrument time. Requests for information, discussion of possible collaborations and for training and access to the HiTIF equipment should be directed to the Facility Head. Projects are selected on the basis of technical feasibility and are handled on a first-come, first-served basis.

Typical projects include arrayed High-Content Imaging (HCI) screens of siRNA or sgRNA oligo libraries for RNAi or CRISPR-Knock Out (KO) experiments. The HiTIF is currently capable of running arrayed screens with libraries containing up to ~ 5000 reagents. To scale screening beyond off-the-shelf arrayed libraries, the HiTIF also develops and runs pooled HCI CRISPR-KO screens in house, using custom lentiviral libraries combined with in situ sequencing to link single-cell phenotypes to guide identity at larger scale.

The HiTIF also offers Imaging Bioinformatics (IB) projects, in which it develops and applies custom, open-source image-analysis pipelines — including deep learning-based object segmentation and tracking, single-cell statistics, and functional genomics screen analysis — to images generated at the HiTIF or at other CCR Imaging Cores. Please inquire with the Head of the Facility for further information on IB projects that do not directly make use of HiTIF instrumentation.

The HiTIF also supports Spatial Bioinformatics (SB) projects, developing and applying custom spatial-statistics pipelines for the analysis of spatial transcriptomics and proteomics datasets from tissue samples. Because the HiTIF does not generate spatial omics data in house, collaborators interested in SB projects should first engage the CCR Single Cell Sequencing Core (SCSC) and the Spatial Imaging and Transcriptomics Resource (SpITR) for data generation; the HiTIF then collaborates closely with these Cores on technology choices, experimental design, and downstream analysis.

In line with existing CCR policy, the HiTIF does not charge for the use of instrumentation, software, or personnel time. For arrayed HCI, users are charged for the cost of preparing assay-ready si/sgRNA plates on the HiTIF automated liquid dispensers, ranging from $70 to $120 per plate depending on the library used. Collaborators are responsible for all additional reagents and consumables for the HCI assay. Charges are tallied per lab each quarter and approved by the lead PI; approved charges above $250 are recouped via a fund swap between the PI’s and the HiTIF’s accounts, while charges below that amount are recouped in kind through the collaborator ordering a matching amount of reagents or consumables for the HiTIF.

HiTIF collaborators have access to two external cost-sharing mechanisms. The CCR Office of Science and Technology Resources (OSTR) provides up to 50% of the total cost of a project, to a maximum of $8,000 per PI per fiscal year. For projects above this threshold, PIs can submit requests via the CCR STARS supplement system, which can cover up to $30,000 of incurred cost. In either case, a panel of HiTIF-independent experts evaluates the scientific merit and technical feasibility of the project before approving funding.

All HiTIF activities are independently overseen by a 7-member HiTIF Oversight Committee, composed of CCR PIs and Core Directors with experience in light microscopy, screening, spatial biology, and functional genomics. The Committee advises on the appropriateness of project intake policies and on the equitable distribution of personnel and instrumentation resources across CCR laboratories. Demand that exceeds capacity is handled through a formal Oversight Committee evaluation to ensure rigorous, independent review and fairness.